Dinamani, 27 Nov. 2007
They are all hindus who are being ill-treated in Malaysia. The organization agitating for human rights protection calls itself Hindu (not Tamil, not ethnics, not even Indians, but simply Hindu).
The title lines of all the following reports should be changed to: Attacks on Hindu human rights in Malaysia
k
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/nov/27malay.htm
Karunanidhi protests ill-treatment of Tamils in Malaysia
November 27, 2007 17:58 IST
Expressing concern over the treatment meted out to Tamils in Malaysia, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday demanded that the Centre immediately take appropriate action to end their suffering.
In a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh [Images], he said the people of the state were disturbed over the happenings in Kuala Lumpur. He said he was greatly pained at the way in which Tamils in Kuala Lumpur were treated by the Malaysian police on November 25, when they organised a protest rally there.
‘You are aware that Tamils constitute the largest percentage among the Indian minority in Malaysia. The protesters were carrying poster-size pictures of Mahatma Gandhi [Images],’ the chief minister said in his letter to the prime minister.
The rally was organised to demand equal rights. Police had used water cannons and tear-gars to crush the demonstration and disperse the rally, besides
detaining over 240 ethnic Indians.
Concern over maltreatment of Malaysian Indians
http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/27/stories/2007112760931000.htm
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The former Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill on Monday appealed to the Indian government to take note of reports about alleged maltreatment of the Indian minority community in Malyasia.
He said that Indian minority constituted about seven per cent of the total population of Malaysia and were equal citizens in that country.
“It is evident that they are not getting equal benefits and treatment in economic well being and in other ways from the Muslim Malay majority who run a robust democracy,” Dr. Gill who is a Rajya Sabha member told The Hindu.
Dr. Gill said that people mainly from South India were taken to Malaysia about a century ago as migrant labourers for profit and they have been there for generations.
“If they are not even allowed to hold peaceful demonstration, it is a matter of concern. As equal citizens, they must get equal and fair treatment from the Malaysian government and majority community,” he said.
Expressing concern over the Indian community’s well being in Malaysia, Dr. Gill said that the Indian External Affairs Ministry should take interest in “this moment of great difficulty.”
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200711271842.htm
Take immediate steps to protect Malaysian Indians: Vaiko
Chennai (PTI): MDMK General Secretary Vaiko on Tuesdayrequested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take immediate steps through diplomatic channels to protect ethnic Indians in Malaysia.
In a letter to Dr Singh, a copy of which was circulated to the media here, he said the Malaysian authorities had used police force against ethnic Indians, mostly Tamils, when they took out a peaceful rally on November 25.
“Making up some eight per cent of Malaysia’s population, Indians are historically underprivileged, compared to other ethnic groups and have long felt discriminated.”
“More than 90 per cent of ethnic Indians in Malaysia are Tamils. They have contributed to bring economic prosperity in Malaysia, shedding their sweat of labour all these years. But they have been discriminated in education, jobs and business opportunities by Malaysian authorities,” he added.
Stating that the reported statement of the Malaysian Prime Minister against the peaceful rally was “disturbing and causes apprehension” about the future safety and welfare of ethnic Indians, Vaiko requested the Prime Minister to take steps to protect them.
Nov. 26, 2007 (TIME magazine) Facing Malaysia's Racial Issues
By Baradan Kuppusamy / Kuala Lumpur
It may have been one of Malaysia's most surreal demonstrations ever. On Sunday, an estimated 20,000 ethnic Indians brought Kuala Lumpur to a standstill for nearly six hours in the name of Queen Elizabeth II. They gathered in the thousands near the Malaysian capital's iconic Petronas Towers, waving giant posters with enlarged images apparently downloaded from the Internet, depicting the British monarch in full royal regalia, or in her Sunday best inspecting flowers in Kensington. One banner read in English and Tamil: THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND — THE SYMBOL OF JUSTICE, WE STILL HAVE HOPE ON YOU. Alongside the pictures of the queen, many protestors also hung images of Mahatma Gandhi around their necks to symbolize the non-violent nature of their march. The foreign tourists who hadn't already been driven out of the square by the crowds gawked and started taking photographs.
The demonstrators — mostly ethnic Tamils, the descendants of
19th-cetury indentured laborers brought to Malaysia from South
India by British colonists — had planned to march on the British
High Commission in Kuala Lumpur's Ampang diplomatic
enclave to submit a two-page memorandum urging the
Queen of England to help them in a legal case brought against
the British government. The class action suit, filed in London in
August by the Malaysia-based Hindu Rights Action Force
(Hindraf) demands that the British government pay some
$4 trillion in damages to atone for what the group calls the
"150 years of exploitation" of ethnic Indians by their former
colonial masters. Hindraf had organized Sunday's march to the
High Commission in order to urge the Queen to appoint
Queen's Counsel to argue their case, as the group cannot
afford to pay the legal fees.
Soon, however, the protest took a darker turn. A day earlier
the government had detained three protest leaders, obtained
a court order banning the rally and repeatedly warned that
any participants would be arrested. Using tear gas and
water cannons, about 5,000 armed riot police pushed back
the protestors; over 190 people were arrested and dozens
injured in the melee. "We only want to urge the Queen to help
us win a case we have filed against the British government in
London. But the police are treating us like animals," said lorry
driver Ramakrishan Subramaniam, 41, who like many others
had journeyed overnight from the countryside to register his
protest. "I have a 10-month old baby and worry what kind of a
future she has in this country."
It's a worry many ethnic Indians share. Making up some 8% of
Malaysia's population (Malays make up about 60 percent, ethnic
Chinese about 25 percent), Indians are historically underprivileged compared to other ethnic groups and have long felt discriminated against, particularly by a Malays-first affirmative action policy instituted after Independence in 1957. "Our community is backward, our schools are dilapidated. We are the last in the line for jobs, scholarships, health benefits," says opposition lawmaker Kulasegaran Murugesan, an ethnic Tamil. Hindraf, modeled after right-wing Hindu nationalist groups in India, is winning support by demanding an increased share of Malaysia's wealth. "For over a decade we have been appealing to the government for help to alleviate our poverty but all our appeals had fell on deaf ears," says Uthayakumar Ponnusamy, Hindraf's legal adviser."The British brought us here, exploited us for 150 years and left
us to the mercy of a Malay Muslim government. They should
compensate us now."
The protest comes just weeks after another banned rally turned
violent, as an estimated 30,000 demonstrators demanding free
and fair elections clashed with riot police. It was the largest
display of public anger since 1998, when thousands rallied
following the sacking of then-Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim over charges of sodomy and corruption. Malaysia is
a normally stable nation that places great stock in its image
as an ethnically harmonious society; government officals say
they are worried about the racial dimensions of Hindraf's
campaign. "It is not easy to satisfy all the races at one time,"
said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak in a statement to
Malaysia's official Bernama news agency. "We are helping
the poor among all races but expectations can get high if
fanned by irresponsible people."
Opposition politicians also worry that Hindraf's protest
threatens to exacerbate religious and ethnic tensions.
"They should be more inclusive," said Anwar, now a leading
opposition figure, in a statement on Sunday.
"We must champion the cause of the poor of all races not just
Indians." Still, with other ethnic minorities and even many
Malays now saying the affirmative action program is being
used more to benefit the rich and powerful than lift up the lower
classes, the opposition stands to gain in general elections widely
expected by next March. For people like Ramakrishnan, worried
that rising food and fuel prices are eating into his meager income,
the choice will be easy. "We will vote opposition this time to send
a clear message to the Malay government to treat us with respect,
to share with us," he says. "We fight for the future of our children,
we don't want them to suffer like us."
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1687973,00.html
Reporting protests in an islamist state
A few articles on this link
http://www.indianmalaysian.com/sound/modules.
php?name=News&file=article&sid=790
bmahendran.com videos
http://raajarox.com/
From: Geoff Wade <arigpw@nus.edu.sg>
Dear all,
The least "New Straits Times"-type news to come out of Malaysia
can be found at Malaysiakini, a subscription-based news service
based in Kuala Lumpur
http://www.malaysiakini.com/index.php?f=1
The headlines and first paras are free as are many of the letters
and comments, but for full content a subscription is necessary.
Malaysiakini is having server problems at present due to the huge
Global demand for information on the HINDRAF protests, but it does provide
Very useful material which will never find its way into the state-controlled
media.
Also some relevant videos are available on Youtube (use 'hindraf' or
'Malaysia' to search)
The US$4 trillion (euro2.7 trillion) lawsuit to be filed in London
appears to be aimed at the Malaysian government more than the British
government -- a ploy which the Chinese call "pointing at the mulberry
when accusing the locust tree."
Best wishes
Geoff
Geoff Wade
National university of Singapore
HHR Press Release : 26/11/07
Brutal oppression of peaceful Hindu protestors by
Malaysian government
http://www.hinduhumanrights.org/pressreleases/hhrPressMalaysia261107.htm
Hindu Human Rights is concerned at the incredible violence used by the
Malaysian authorities, including the use of dangerous chemical-laced
water cannons, against Hindus in that country peacefully protesting in
the nation's capital of Kuala Lumpur. Hindu protestors were
demonstrating outside the British High Commission as it was Britain
that imported indentured Indian labour (legalised slave labour)
to work on the rubber plantations over a century ago and then left
them there with no means to protect themselves as is now being
witnessed. Despite being born in Malaysia and settled there for many
generations, Hindus are still regarded as immigrants and outsiders and
not recognised as Malaysian with the same rights as the indigenous
Malays, who are known as 'bumiputra' or sons of the soil. They suffer
widespread poverty and have been relegated to the lowermost rungs
of the social and economic sphere as the political system openly
discriminates against them in regards to jobs, scholarships, study
places and economic benefit. In addition to this there is open
religious discrimination against Hindus as well. Hindu temples in
Malaysia are systematically demolished under any pretexts by
Malaysian authorities. There have even been numerous cases where
authorities have intervened to stop Hindus from even receiving their
traditional funeral rites. So for even daring to voice their concerns,
the three leading members of the group behind the protest, the Hindu
Rights Action Force (Hindraf), were arrested, charged with making
seditious comments, and face up to three years in jail if convicted.
Thanks to the pressure from the international community and protests
from fair-minded people, the three arrested activist have temporarily
been released. However the situation remains precarious and the
appalled state of human rights of Hindus in that country continues.
HHR calls upon the Malaysian government respect the rights of Hindus
in that country and work towards dismantling the racial and religious
apartheid that makes Malaysian Hindus the most neglected community
in that country. HHR also calls upon the worldwide community to
recognize the discrimination and oppression faced by Malaysian Hindus,
which has been ignored, despite the fact that it has become
progressively worse since the independence of the former British colony
of Malaya in 1957.
From: Vincent K Pollard <pollard@hawaii.edu>
Dear Colleagues,
For yet another perspective on Sunday's demonstration, see P.S.
Suryanarayana [dateline: Singapore], "Malaysian Indians
stage protest rally," The Hindu, online edition, 26 November 2007,
<http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/26/stories/2007112656300100.htm>
According to that reporter, "Sunday's protest follows a recent rally
by the former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and his supporters
for 'a fair and free electoral system.'"
Vincent K Pollard
............................
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~pollard/
ASIAN, U.S. HAWAI'I, GLOBAL POLITICS
THIS IS MALAYSI’A STATE SPONSORED
JEHAD AGAINST HINDUS
-Dr Togadiya
Reacting strongly against the brutal use of Malaysian Government’s force
againstpeacefully protesting Hindus, Dr Pravin Togadia, VHP Secretary
General condemned it as MALAYSIAN GOVERNMEN’S STATE
SPONSORED JEHADI TERRORISM against Hindus. Dr Togadia said,
”Hindus were a majority in the Malayas, Java, Sumatra, Bali & Sayam region.
Forcibly converting Hindus to Islam, killing those who refused to convert &
chasing them away by might, Islamhas done ethnic cleansing in these region.
Same way Islam has been behaving in Kashmir, Assam, Eastern U.P.,
some parts of West Bengal etc.
In Malaysia, Hindus have been staying even before Islam started to exist.
But after Malaysia was declared Islamist nation, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists &
other religions are being tortured there with clear focus:
either convert & follow Islam or die.’ In neighbouring Indonesia, Bali Island has
majority Hindus & it gives tourism income to Indonesia, yet, that government
harasses Bali people. Same way,Hindus in Malaysia Hindus have been contributing
to Malaysia’s growth.
Forcing a religion to be a minority
by killing them & then depriving them of basic human rights because they are
minority has been Islam’s style in Malaysia, Jordan, Indonesia, Afghanistan &
even in Indian states likes J&K, Assam, U.P. etc. “
Dr Togadia demanded immediate intervention of Indian government in
betterment of Hindus in Malaysia.
He further said,”When Haneef is caught in Australia, Indian PM cries, when
Naushad’s eyes are in danger in UAE, E. Ahmed flies there but not for Hindu
Kutty when abducted, but when Hindus are brutally tortured in Malaysia, UPA
Govt gives a lame excuse of citizenship.” DrTogadia warned that if Malaysian
Government would not stop ill-treating Hindus there, it should not forget that at
many places Malaysian students are studying in India & Islam is in Minority in
India. Hindus in India then would have to protestdemocratically against all these
everywhere. VHP also has given memorandum to the Malaysian High
Commission in New Delhi in this regard
